Paris Olympics 2024 | Can India’s tennis trio fulfill the medal dream of a billion?

Three Indians have made the cut for the tennis event of 2024 Olympics, which will get underway in Paris on July 26.

Having represented India twice at the Olympics (2012 and 2016), Rohan Bopanna, in tandem with N Sriram Balaji, will be hoping for a doubles medal in what is likely to be his final Olympics. Sumit Nagal, who made it to the second round of Australian Open this year, besides breaking into the top 100, will be looking to make a mark in the singles event. After Sania Mirza’s retirement in 2023, India is yet to find a player of her calibre, which means there will be no Indian women’s tennis player at the Olympics this time.

Bopanna achieved his lifelong dream, winning his maiden Grand Slam doubles title at the 2024 Australian Open, partnering Matt Ebden. This title triumph helped Bopanna become world No 1 in doubles at 43, a staggering achievement.

Narrow miss in Rio

Bopanna, currently ranked fourth (as of July 13) in the world in doubles, narrowly missed winning a medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics in mixed doubles. Needing one victory for a medal, Bopanna and Sania Mirza lost in the mixed doubles semifinals to Venus Williams and Rajeev Ram. They followed it up by going down in the bronze medal playoff to Lucie Hradecka and Radek Stepanek.

Former India Davis Cup captain Ramesh Krishnan termed Bopanna’s achievements (Grand Slam title and World No. 1) fantastic. Bopanna has had a spectacular season so far. Partnering Ebden, the Indo-Aussie duo have won two titles, besides reaching a final in the first half of 2024. Besides winning a Slam, Bopanna and Ebden won the Miami Masters. They also reached the Adelaide Open final. His Olympic partner Balaji also had some good results. Balaji and his partner Miguel Reyes-Varela made a mark at the French Open, reaching the last 16. Teaming up with Andre Begemann, Sriram Balaji triumphed in the Cagliari Challengers, which was his best performance this season.

Despite the stiff competition, if Bopanna and Balaji perform to their full potential, the Indian team’s hope of winning a medal is a realistic possibility. “While both players are in good form, they are not a regular team. I am sure there will be other teams in similar situations. Bopanna and Balaji will be playing a couple of warm-up events. Keeping fingers crossed and hope things work out well for the team,” reflected Ramesh, when queried about the Indian duo’s chances in Paris.

The Spanish doubles pairing of Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz will garner a lot of attention. Even though Nadal and Alcaraz’s accomplishments have come mostly in singles, they will be one of the contenders for doubles gold because of their overall skills. Italy’s Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti, USA’s Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek, Daniil Medvedev and Roman Saifullin are the other doubles combinations to watch out for.

All eyes on Sumit

Sumit has had a breakout season in 2024. After qualifying for the main draw of the Australian Open, Sumit pulled off an upset win over higher-ranked Alexander Bublik in the first round before going down in the second round to Shang Juncheng. The 26-year-old continued his good form, triumphing in the Chennai Challenger. This victory helped him break into the top 100 of ATP rankings for the first time. Ahead of Wimbledon, he won his second Challenger title of the year in Heilbronn, Germany.

Significantly, improvement in his rankings earned him a direct entry for the French Open and Wimbledon. Of course, he couldn’t make an impact in both the Slams. Thanks to his consistent performances, Sumit qualified for the Olympics singles event for the second straight time. In the Tokyo Olympics, the Indian defeated Denis Istomin in the first round before falling in the second round to former World No. 1 Medvedev. With clay being the surface for the tournament, Sumit, who is adept in clay, has a good chance to make a mark in Roland Garros.

Reigning Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner, 10-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic, reigning French Open champion Alcaraz and Tokyo Olympic gold medallist (in singles) Alexander Zverev, will be the star attractions for the singles event. Djokovic, who is called the GOAT in tennis for his incredible achievements, will be eyeing an Olympic gold, which is the only missing link in his CV. Winning a bronze medal in 2008 Beijing Olympics remains the Serb’s best performance at the quadrennial event.

Maintaining momentum

Asked whether Sumit can make an impact in the Olympics, Ramesh sounded positive: “Sumit has had a good season. He likes playing on the red clay. He certainly can do some damage.” How impressed are you with Sumit’s progress? Ramesh said: “He has made steady progress since winning the title in Chennai. It’s important that Sumit keeps the momentum going.”

Ramesh, who played only once in the Olympics (Barcelona, 1992), lost to Jim Courier in the first round. Partnering Leander Paes, Ramesh did better in doubles, reaching the quarterfinals. “It was still at the nascent stage. Tennis came back into the Olympics only in 1988. While the participation was good, the players were not clear what they wanted out of the Olympics. The present generation is a lot clearer,” was how Ramesh summed up his Olympics experience.

Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, Ons Jabeur (twice Wimbledon finalist) and former US Open champion Emma Raducanu are the prominent women players to opt out of Olympics, while in the men’s category, Andrei Rublev and Grigor Dimitrov decided not to take part in the event.